Top 5 golf courses in southwest Ireland: Matt Ginella ranks the best

Southwest Ireland is one of the world's most popular links destinations for a variety of reasons: it's a mere five-hour flight from Boston to Shannon Airport in Co. Clare, the hospitality is first class, and the collection of links golf courses go pound-for-pound with any destination in the world.

Golf Channel's Matt Ginella recently spent a week in Ireland for the 25th staging of the World Invitational Father & Son Golf Tournament, hosted by Carr Golf Travel at Waterville Golf Links.

Upon his return, he's gushing about the experience, from playing Waterville five days in a row to visiting coastal towns like picture-perfect Kinsale.

So the question is, once Trump has completed his work on Doonbeg (now named Trump International Golf Links Ireland), will he be able to one day convince Ginella and Deegan to add Trump Ireland to their respective top 5s?

Considering so many Americans have been to southwest Ireland, chances are you've got your top 5 in mind too. We'd love to hear them in the comments below.

Brandon Tucker is the Managing Editor for Golf Advisor. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and over 500 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at BrandonTuckerGC.